Last of the Ionians
by YoungestCullen8
Summary: D'Nala suddenly comes through earth's Stargate without warning. Injured and alone, she is housed in the SGC until they can find out what exactly happened. She spends time with Sam and Daniel learning the language and history, but mostly learning about human interaction. When another person comes in search for her, she is face with the truth of her history. Set after Season 10. R&R
1. Chapter 1

**Author's note:** I have been binging Stargate SG-1 for the last three weeks because I haven't had cable or internet. I remembered how much I loved it when my dad watched it. So this story started playing around in my head.

She didn't know what was going on, didn't know where she was. The last thing she remembered was severe pain in her lower back as she went through the circle of water. When she hit something hard and cold, she blacked out.

Now as she came to her senses, she realized she had no idea what was going to happen. She didn't know where she was, but she had been hooked up to machines. There were tubes coming from her arms, needles piercing her flesh. There was an incessant beeping hat was getting on her nerves. She had to get up.

But she had no feeling in her legs. Panicking she tried to pull herself up, but her legs didn't move. The annoying beeping picked up speed as she tried to get up. Her legs just wouldn't move. Her breathing became labored and she put her hand to her head in an attempt to figure things out. To make matters worse, her hand came back tinted red. It only added to her panic.

The doors suddenly opened and a dark skinned woman came in. She didn't know who she was or what she wanted, but she didn't want her to touch her. She struggled against her and tried to move, but her stupid legs wouldn't move. All she had were her hands. But the woman reached out to touch her.

"No!" she cried and cringed away as much as possible.

"I'm not going to hurt you, but you need to calm down," the other woman said. "I need to touch you. May I?" The woman in the bed nodded warily. "My name is Dr. Lam. Can I have yours?" the woman asked carefully touched the tubes and needles.

"D'Nala," she replied.

The doctor smiled. "Hell, D'Nala. You are in the SGC on earth. You came through our Stargate. Do you remember anything?"

It took a minute for her to answer. "Severe pain in my back."

The other woman nodded. "Unfortunately, I have some bad news. The pain you felt in your back was from a result of being shot. I removed the shrapnel fragment, but it had pierced your spinal cord. You are paralyzed from the waist down."

D'Nala frowned, the word unfamiliar. "Paralyzed?"

"It means you cannot walk. We have plenty of ways for you to get around though."

The new woman stared at the doctor for moment then leaned her head back on the pillow. "Please leave me."

"I'm sorry. I can't. General Landry wants to speak with you. He will be here shortly since a nurse has advised him that you are awake."

D'Nala watched her as she fiddled with whatever medical devices hooked to her. Her head was spinning with the knowledge that she would never walk again, and computing everything she had heard. Never had she thought anything like this would happen.

She closed her eyes and pictured home. This room was closed off from everything she was used to. She was used to bright sunlight, birds chirping, animals wandering about, and the open sky. This place was none of that. It was solid walls with no windows and sliding doors. It was nothing like home.

The doors opened again, but this time a small entourage entered. D'Nala was slightly nervous. These people looked intimidating, especially the Jaffa. She knew he was Jaffa due to his golden emblem on his forehead. The other five didn't make her feel any better.

Dr. Lam stood by the head of her bed. "This is D'Nala. Surgery went well. I have stitched up some of the more serious wounds and removed the shrapnel. She is awake and alert so I have informed her of her condition."

"Thank you, doctor. D'Nala, my name is Major General Hank Landry. The people behind me are Lt. Colonels Cameron Mitchell and Samantha Carter, Dr. Daniel Jackson, Vala Del Moran, and Teal'c. Welcome to the SGC. We were wondering what happened that sent you through the Stargate in your condition," the older gentleman said.

D'Nala frowned and tilted her head, the words wrapping around her brain. She looked up at Dr. Lam. "General? Colonel?"

Dr. Lam nodded. "Yes. They are military ranks given to offices in the United States Military. In this case, they are Air Force rankings."

The other woman looked at the other titled man. "Doctor?"

The man in question nodded. "Yes, I'm a doctor."

D'Nala pointed at Dr. Lam. "Doctor?"

Lam nodded again. "Yes, but I'm a doctor of medicine. Daniel is a doctor in the study of civilizations; people, places, writings. I'm sure he would be interested in who you are. Can you tell us that?"

D'Nala's mind worked as she processed the language and integrated it in her memory. It was so familiar to that of her own. There were common consonants and vowels. She was certain if she saw it in writing, she would understand it better.

"My name is D'Nala Magnus. I am from Io, a planet known for its warmth and sandy beaches," she said, choosing her words carefully. "My world was under attack by the…" it took a moment for her to find the world, "the Ori. I was sent through the Chappa'ai to find refuge. I suffered from bad pain as I came through."

"You were shot as you entered the Chappa'ai," Daniel said.

"I know now. Io has been destroyed. It is now a black hole."

Samantha Carter looked shocked. "You know what a black hole is?"

Once again, D'Nala frowned. This time she looked uncomfortable. "Is it strange? I may not understand why I'm here, but on my world, I was a respected physicist of the Ionian Science Academy."

The woman grew excited. "If I bring you a star map, could you point out where you are from?" Confused, D'Nala nodded. "I'll be right back sir."

D'Nala looked up at Dr. Lam. "May I have some paper and something to write with?"

Dr. Lam nodded. "Sure. Give me a moment."

As she left the room, Daniel filled in the space. D'Nala looked at him, and the two stared at each other for a long while. Daniel carefully touched her face right under her eye.

"What does this mean?" he asked, his voice barely above a whisper.

"My rank," she replied with a small smile. He returned it as his finger traced it. "I've just recently had it adjusted. Please stop." She pushed his hand away.

"What is your rank?" Cameron Mitchell asked. D'Nala hesitated. "If your world was destroyed, it wouldn't hurt to tell us who you are."

"No one will hurt you," General Landry said.

"I can write it better than I can speak it," she said.

"Then we'll wait until Dr. Lam returns."

It didn't take long. Dr. Lam gave D'Nala a little stack of papers and a pen. D'Nala took them and started writing immediately. Daniel stood over her shoulder and watched with fascination as she wrote.

"This is ancient Latin," he said. "I think the Ionians are descendants of ancient Rome."

"Wait. I thought Rome was on the Tyrrhenian Sea," Cam said.

"It is, but if they lived on Io, they would be called Ionian. I guess Rome was very popularized in their culture."

"Roma," D'Nala said. She finished the page and handed it to him before starting a new one. "Abi."

Daniel looked shocked as everyone else looked on. "What did she say?" Cam asked.

"She told me to leave her alone." Daniel sat in the corner and started to read.

D'Nala worked steadily for a while, but she didn't just write. She drew cities, building structures, and anything else she could think of. Anything that would keep her from speaking since she hadn't mastered the language just yet.

Sam took the remaining papers from D'Nala in exchange for the star maps and looked them over. Every page she turned her mouth dropped.

"Sir, she's given us a whole picture of what her community and architecture looked like," she said.

"I have a full history of her people and how their caste is set up. No one is belittled in their society, but they are extremely intelligent," Daniel said as his eyes scanned the paper. "D'Nala, how much of our speech can you understand?"

D'Nala tilted her head as the words sank in. The more they talked, the more she understood.

Instead of answering verbally, she wrote it down. More like sketched it. She handed it to them a few minutes later. Daniel's face broadened into a smile.

"It's twenty seconds for her mind to understand what we say. I think she processes things faster than we do, sir. I would like to do some tests," he said.

D'Nala shook her head. "No. No tests."

Daniel realized what he had said had come across wrong. "No. Not scientific tests. Mental tests. I want to test your knowledge."

"He wants to know how quickly you take in information," Sam said. "It won't hurt. You'll just read some of his books."

At the word, her face lit up. "Books? You have books?"

Same smiled. "Yes. Lots of them on lots of different topics."

"Do you have any on…" She squinted as she tried to pull up the word. No words came to mind so she pointed at the star map.

"Do we have any on astronomy? Yes. We have plenty. You can borrow some if you'd like."

"You can borrow them tomorrow when I officially release you from the infirmary. Now, Colonel Carter and Dr. Jackson, you want to remain here and discuss this with her, that's fine. But she needs to eat," Dr. Lam said.

"On that note, I will go get her something to eat," Cam said. He turned on his heel and left the infirmary. "Come on, Vala!"

Sam and Daniel pulled up a couple of chairs and started asking some more questions. D'Nala had to stop them a couple of times because they were talking too fast and she was having a hard time understanding. Cam returned with some sort of warm liquid. Daniel explained that it was easy for her stomach to digest since she wasn't used to earth's processed foods yet. They kept asking questions while she ate.

Dr. Lam came in and explained when asked what had happened to her spine. She severed the connection between her L5 and S1 vertebrae, causing damage to her spinal cord. Normally they could rehabilitate but D'Nala declined. So Lam said she would find a sport wheelchair for her so she could move around freely. She promised to discuss more private matters the next day.

After a few hours, D'Nala became tired and leaned her bed back so she could get some rest. Sam noticed and motioned for Daniel to follow her out. They turned the lights down so their new friend could get some well-deserved sleep.


	2. Chapter 2

Daniel stared at the flawless ancient Latin that sat before him on a crisp white piece of paper. D'Nala had been with them for a few days and she had made them all feel like idiots. She had inhaled whatever books they had given her, and showed how quick of a study she was. In the last two days she had mastered Italian, Greek, French, and German. She had written a thorough synopsis of whatever book she had read, complete with footnotes. She could read any language, but she could only write in Latin.

Dr. Lam and the SGC had equipped her with a sport wheelchair. After learning how it worked, she now zipped around the base with it. She split most of her time between Daniel's mini library and Sam's lab. Whatever books they gave her, she read then demonstrated her knowledge. She was like a sponge.

"Excusa!" he heard down the hallway. There was a rumbling laugh as D'Nala zipped into his office. He heard the wheels squeal. "Daniel! You should see this!?"

She posed it as a question but he knew what she wanted. He pushed away from his computer and slid over to the clean part of his desk. He had kept it clean so she could zip in and show him something then zip back out. Much like she had just done. It never ceased to amaze him at how quickly she was assimilating to this world.

"You should learn to use your English more, even if you're telling people to get out of your way," he said. She smiled up at him, her weird silver eyes lighting up. He shook his head then helped her unfurl the paper in her lap. "What is this?"

"It's the star map I gave her a couple of days ago," Sam said as she came through the doorway. She stopped long enough to catch her breath then walked over to the table they were standing around. "I gave her this two days ago and asked her to show me where she is from. Now I didn't realize she was going to tell us every planet she knew. It seems the Ionians were very advanced. Not just logically but technically as well."

D'Nala pointed at a drawing she'd had rolled inside the map. "Navis."

Sam made a face. Daniel translated. "She means ship. This is a docking bay for a ship. D'Nala, it's called a ship. What are these buildings?" he asked, pointing to the three closest to the docking bay.

D'Nala pointed to them individually. "Domus, tabernus, senatus."

"She said they are a house, a shop, and the senate building. The docking bay must be for travelers coming in to work." He pointed to the same ones individually and repeated her movements, giving each word in english. "Home, shop, senate." He watched her commit it to memory.

"Daniel, her home world is in the Phoenix Dwarf Galaxy. It's a satellite galaxy to our own and 1.44 million light years from here. It's not the closest one but it'd be easy to get her home," Sam said.

D'Nala shook her head. "Not home. I want to stay here. I'm learning so much. Please let me stay. I'm no harm. Daniel, please."

Daniel looked down at D'Nala. Her silver cat eyes looked at him, begging him. He looked at Sam. She wasn't too convinced that it was the right course of action. So he grabbed a piece of paper and a pen. He handed it D'Nala.

"Can you sketch what the terrain of the nearest planet to Io looks like?" he asked.

D'Nala took the pen and got to work. She came up with a rocky terrain that no wheelchair could go across. Then she showed them what the next three planets looked like. There was no way she could go back. She wouldn't survive.

"Sam," the woman said as she finished her last picture. "This is made of graphite, methane, steel, and a polymer of sorts. Combined they create one of the hardest metals I have ever seen. No other metal has been able to destroy it." She flipped the page. "This is a... diamas?" She looked at Daniel.

"Diamond," he supplied.

"This is a diamond mine. The diamonds from this mine have created wonderful pieces of…gemmae?"

"Jewelry."

"Wonderful pieces of jewelry. This place is made of molten rock. It is great for using and keeping fires going. I read somewhere it's called charcoal." Once again she looked at Daniel for help. He nodded. She flipped the last page. "This has a huge ore deposit but it's more known for aurum…"

Daniel interrupted. "Gold."

"…and naquadah."

Sam stopped her there. "Naquadah? There's naquadah in the Phoenix Dwarf Galaxy? How did we not know that? We should tell Landry right away." D'Nala grabbed her arm, her chair rolling a little ways as Sam stopped. "What is it?"

"The planet's name is Callist, and it's protected by a group known as the Olympians. They will do their hardest to protect that reserve. I have met them once on a munus diplomaticum."

Daniel pulled a face then leaned a hip against the table. "Why were you on a diplomatic mission? D'Nala, what aren't you telling us?"

"D'Nala, is there any way that you are way more than you seem?" Sam asked.

She looked at them then shoved away from the table and rolled out the door. They shared a look before Daniel grabbed the map and followed her down the hallway. She was already down the elevator by the time he arrived at the double doors. He had to wait for the stupid thing to come back up before he could follow her again.

When he got off on Level 25, he took a left and walked to the door one down from his. They had thought it best to put him closest to her because he was the only one who could translate what she was saying. Now she could speak almost flawless English and various other languages. She was even learning Goa'uld from Teal'c although no one understood why.

He didn't both knocking on the door. D'Nala always kept it unlocked. He wasn't certain if it was because she felt comfortable or because she just didn't think about it. But it was always open so he always kept his unlocked so she could just barge in.

So he barged in and stopped dead in his tracks. Her floor was covered in paper. And on that paper were drawings. Actually, as he got a closer look at them he realized they were Stargate runes and glyphs. Not only that, but she was drawing constellations. He had never shown her any of the constellations and the last time she had been in the Gate Room she had been unconscious. Sam had kept those books away from her. He didn't know how she knew what they looked like.

As he got closer to her, he realized she wasn't even speaking English anymore. Lately when she had been working, she had muttered to herself in English so she could get the words straight. She still had issues bringing the right word for the right time. She had been spending a lot of time with him so he could guess what word she wanted or give the English word for her Latin one.

"Sol, luna, stellarum; sol, luna, stellarum, sol, luna, stellarum…" she kept repeating it as she doodled another glyph.

Daniel picked his way across the room, looking at everything in the process. All thirty-nine glyphs from the Stargate, the Goa'uld glyphs, and other ones he didn't recognize were scattered about the floor. He stepped up behind her and placed his hand on her shoulder. She reacted violently.

"Noli me tengere!" she yelled, jerking her shoulder out of his hand.

"What do you mean don't touch you? I'm trying to find out what's going on." She didn't answer him right away so he jerked her chair back. "D'Nala!"

When he looked into her eyes, he was lost. Her eyes swirled molten silver, her pupils completely disappearing. He was completely shocked that he dropped the map and forced her face up. She kept repeating the same thing; the sun, the moon, the stars. He didn't know what it meant but it was important.

He unbuckled the belt that kept D'Nala in her chair and lifted her up. He turned and walked to her bed, not caring that he stepped on her photos. Daniel placed her on the bed then crawled in beside her. He adjusted her until she was comfortable. She kept repeating the lines as she lay against him. Her eyes glowed faintly in the darkness.

"D'Nala, I don't know what's going on or what that saying means, but I'm right here. You can talk to me if you need to. I know you don't want to talk about your past just yet. Or maybe you don't remember your past. I don't know which it is, but know that you have someone you can talk to. I don't know what any of this means, but I'm willing to try," he said.

She didn't answer in English or latin, but he could feel her jaw moving against his neck. She was still repeating. They stayed like that for the better part of an hour. D'Nala finally just relaxed against him, hand that was tight in his shirt now loose and resting against his stomach.

"Have you slept any since you've been here?" he asked.

"A couple of hours, but not all through the night. I work mostly. Sam gave me access to her lab any time I wished to use it. I go there to read at night or to look at the stars," she answered. "My dreams keep me awake."

"Can you tell me about your dreams?" Her white hair was caught on his stubble. "Maybe I could help."

"Gratias ago tibi, non," she muttered.

Daniel realized a few seconds too late that she was going to sleep. Not sleeping wasn't really taking a toll but she was tired at the moment. There was no need for her to be moved so he just stayed where he was so she could at least rest for a bit.


	3. Chapter 3

D'Nala watched the Stargate with awe. This was the big ring that she had come through. She had only ever seen it in its stasis form mere seconds before she had run through it to safety. She watched it glowing blue with what seemed like water but was known as the event horizon. She could see it rippling with energy.

She looked at the file in her lap. She could finally read modern English but was still having trouble writing it. In Daniel's musings was everything they knew about the gate. He told about the chevrons, the glyphs, the matter stream, the event horizon, the naquadah, everything. She had read through it twice but decided it was easier to do so again.

She wheeled her chair out of the control room to the elevator. She hit the Level 28 button just as Daniel walked through the doors. He had been staying close to her since the day he found she didn't sleep much. He had tried to get her to go to the infirmary for light sedation so she could sleep longer. She had declined because Dr. Lam had told her how high her tolerance was.

So he had spent most of his time helping her understand what was going on. Apparently earth was somewhat like her home world, except it had different climate zones for each area of it. She could drive a few hundred miles north and it would be cold. Or she could fly around the globe and be in a very warm climate. It all just depended on where she was. Daniel had said he would take her there if she wanted.

The doors opened and she rolled into the Gate Room. She wasn't aware that her mouth had dropped as she looked up at the giant ring, but Daniel's laugh made her turn to look at him. He motioned to his jaw and she closed her mouth. Suddenly annoyed, she pushed her chair up the incline and straight up to the portal that could take her to other worlds.

She reached out to touch the seemingly gooey stickiness but her hand went right through it. Confused, she waved her hand up and down it. She wanted to go through, but something stopped her. Electricity suddenly arced across the event horizon and the iris closed.

D'Nala saw images flash across her eyes. She was running, so it had to be minutes before she had come through the Chappa'ai. Jaffa were chasing her even though they had lived in peace for many centuries. Hearing a voice behind her, she turned only to stumble. Her companion was the complete opposite of D'Nala. She was red headed where D'Nala was white; her friend had reddish cat eyes where hers were silver. Her companion told her to go, go through the Chappa'ai.

She didn't go at first. She stopped to help her friend up only to be shot at once again. The laser blasts went past her head but she wasn't sure how. She hauled her friend up and they started for the stone ring once again. Someone came out from behind the device and hit the red orb in the middle. He had yellow white hair and golden cat eyes, much like her other friend. The ring glowed as power flowed from the ring and settled. D'Nala ran to it, only to stop just shy of it and turn around. Then something happened.

Something flew from her hands as she held them up, some sort of silver power. She didn't know what it was, but it was something that came from within her. She didn't know what to do, but she had to go through the Chappa'ai to freedom. It was the only way they would survive.

Just as she went through the sticky gooey like water, something pierced her back. She tumbled through space and time until she hit something solid. Then she was gone.

Daniel watched as the pupils of D'Nala's eyes disappeared into silver depths once again just as the electricity came across the Stargate. He jerked her chair back as she disappeared far away. He went to move her but something surrounded her. He cursed as it shocked him then withdrew back around its host.

"Daniel?" Sam asked from the control room. "What's going on?"

"I have no idea. She was just staring at the Stargate when this happened," he said. "D'Nala, can you hear me? You need to pull this back in. you're going to overload the Stargate. If you do that, we can't do our job."

"Dr. Jackson," Dr. Lam said as she came through the doors. "What's going on?"

"She has an electrical field surrounding her. I have no idea where it came from, and I have no idea how to stop it."

"We'll have to wait it out."

They sat in the Gate Room and waited until D'Nala came out of whatever trance she was in. It wasn't like any trance Daniel had seen before. Usually people's eyes glazed over. Never had he seen anyone whose eyes glowed. Then again he hadn't seen anyone whose hair was white like starlight.

"Sol, luna, stellerum," he muttered. "Sun, moon, stars. That's what she was repeating a couple of days ago. What does D'Nala's hair look like?"

Dr. Lam frowned and tilted her head as she looked at the chair bound woman. "Something from the heavens, starlight maybe."

"That's exactly what I'm thinking. I remember reading about how the ancient peoples of earth prayed to the sun for its light during the day and the moon for its during the night. Now the stars were there to guide them home when the moon was new. What if the Ionians adapted that same concept, except they used it as a means to bolster three people?"

The doctor looked confused then. "What are you trying to say, Daniel?"

"What if there were children that were born as the embodiment of the sun, the moon and the stars. What if D'Nala is the embodiment of the stars, which is why her hair is made of starlight? Or what we think is starlight?"

"It makes sense. But why would she be sent here?"

Daniel shook his head. "I don't know."

D'Nala came out of her trance at that moment. She took a ragged deep breath just as the power surge through the Stargate subsided. She panicked for a moment until she saw where she was.

"D'Ardin! L'Aquila!" she said.

"Fiery and eagle," Daniel added. "I think they're names. D'Nala, what do they mean?"

"Not now, Dr. Jackson. I need to get her to the infirmary. She can brief you about it later."

Dr. Lam gently pushed D'Nala out of the Gate Room. The handicapped woman went through the doctor's check-up without a word as she replayed everything over and over again in her mind. Who were D'Ardin and L'Aquila? Why were they important? They had to be close to her for them to help her through the Stargate when their planet was being destroyed.

After the good doctor had sent her on her way, D'Nala hesitated before going to the briefing. For some reason, she didn't feel the need to go right away. She went to her quarters and sketched what she had seen. People, gunfire, the Stargate as she was coming to call it, and everything else she had seen. She rummaged through all the paperwork she had piled on her table and found a folder Daniel had left with ancient Egyptian writing on it. Dumping the papers out, she shoved hers in and set it in her lap.

She took the elevator back down to the briefing room. Everyone said greetings to her as she passed, and she answered back. But they could tell she was distracted. The door to the briefing room opened for her and she rolled right on in. All of SG-1 was waiting on her.

"I don't mean to sound critical, Nala, but we've been waiting for almost an hour," Daniel said.

Vala raised an eyebrow at him. "Nala? Since when do you call her Nala?"

"Since he emerged from her quarters three mornings ago," Teal'c said.

Cam turned to look at Daniel with a credulous look. "You came from her room? What were you doing there?"

"Apparently he was doing is what a man and a woman do when they're alone in a bedroom together," Vala added.

D'Nala was confused but Daniel understood it completely. "Guys, nothing happened. She had one of those trance-like moments then too. But she was chanting Sol, luna, stellerum. The translation of that is Sun, Moon, Stars. Now I think D'Nala is the embodiment of the Stars bit of that chant. Starlight is characterized by the color, silvery white. Nala's hair is silvery white and her eyes are a weird silver color. I think two others look like the embodiment of the sun and the moon."

"Daniel," D'Nala said as she tossed her file folder on to the table, "is right, but I don't know what any of it means." She watched as Daniel removed the colorful pictures from the folder. "The woman's name is D'Ardin and the male is L'Aquila. All I know is that D'Ardin is the Sun and L'Aquila is the Moon. They sacrificed themselves so I could get here. Other than that I don't know much."

"Ardin means "fiery" but we would call it passion. Aquila is "eagle". The Romans thought eagles were very honorable. Nala means "olive", but it's of African origin so I don't know why it's even a name for an Ionian from ancient Rome," Daniel explained.

"Unless she's descended from the African tribes the Romans conquered," Sam offered. Everyone looked at her. "I know a little about the Roman conquests. But it fits because Italy is known for its olive oil."

General Landry turned his attention to the woman. "D'Nala, what does the prefix before your name mean?"

"All women's names start with D', and men's start with L'. All the names have meaning. Fiery, eagle, purity, charity, olive are just to name a few. But, that's all I can remember, sir. I don't know why my friends went me through the Chappa'ai or why they didn't come with me," D'Nala said.

Cam turned the photos around and pointed at the markings on their faces. "These people have the same markings as you do. I'm assuming the top one means you are of the Ionian Science Academy, but what of the bottom? You all have the same one again."

D'Nala looked at her pictures and stared at the facial markings. Silver, red, and bluish, silvery white. She recognized the swirl pattern of the Academy markings, but the bottom ones made her draw a blank. She had seen them before but at the moment she had no idea what they meant. Shaking her head she pushed the papers back. Cam made a grim face.

"It's all right. Dr. Lam did say the portion of your brain that controls memory took some damage when you hit the ramp," he said.

Daniel took offense to that. "Are you saying she can't remember because she's brain damaged? That's highly offensive."

"Why are you so ruffled by a mere slip of the tongue? It's not like I said she was handicap."

"She is!"

"Why did the Chappa'ai become electrified when I slipped backwards in time?" D'Nala asked, effectively silencing everyone.

"It wasn't just the Stargate that became electrified. When you touched the event horizon, the iris closed as electricity surrounded both the Stargate and your body. You had a very thin protective barrier surrounding you as you were in your trance, or repressed memory," Sam said. "You accidentally shocked Daniel and took some of the skin off his hand."

D'Nala looked at Daniel and he showed the bandage wrapped around his hand. She rubbed her head in agitation. She was getting tired of these visions plaguing her. It was what kept her from sleeping at all. She wanted to know what was going on but feared that if she knew, they would send her away. That was the last thing she wanted.

She rolled back in her chair, turned and went to the computer. She didn't know what she was going to do but her hands worked on their own accord. By the time she was done, she was looking at her home galaxy. Right in the middle was a very dark hole.

"The black hole," Sam said. "D'Nala, how much do you remember everything you did while in the Academy? Because any information you have could help us find a suitable home for you, one that will give you all the benefits you will need."

She didn't like the thought that they were trying to get rid of her. She didn't ask to come through their Stargate, but here she was and they were trying to get rid of her. She pushed away from the computer and settled against the wall as Sam studied the screen. She had never felt so alone before. She wasn't sure how that was possible since she really didn't remember.

"SG-1, prepare to go to Callist," Landry said.

"Sir, I would like to remain," Daniel said. Everyone didn't seem shocked. "D'Nala can't go and we're really the only ones she knows. It wouldn't be fair if we all went and left her here. Who knows what we'd come back to find."

Landry looked at the rest of the team. They didn't seem to mind so he nodded. "Very well. The rest of you leave in an hour."


	4. Chapter 4

Daniel watched Dr. Lam rotate D'Nala's left hip as he lifted weights. The good doctor wasn't convinced that her patient would never walk again. Since SG-1 had gone to Callist, Dr. Lam had taken the opportunity to work the muscles. It gave Daniel ample opportunity to work out and to think.

He watched the emotions play across D'Nala's face as she stayed still. When they had first started this, she hadn't really wanted to do it. She had already told herself that she would never walk again and hadn't said much else. So when Dr. Lam had started rotating her numb joints, she had been irritated. Now there was resignation.

Daniel had given her headphones and an MP3 player full of audio books in multiple languages. The first time she had used it she had been very wary. She had said music on Io had been played through something like a gramophone and everyone listened to it. She had been completely surprised when he had put the little buds in her ears and turned the player on. Her face had lit up. Now she used it whenever she didn't want to listen to anyone.

When Dr. Lam had asked her to get on the bed, she had simply laid back and listened. Every now and then her mouth moved as she repeated a word.

Ever since she had told him she didn't sleep very much, he had spent a lot of time in her quarters. Most of the time when he in there it was at night. He would go in and make sure she slept close to four hours. He always brought reading materials with him but he inevitably fell asleep. When he would wake up, she would be reading whatever he had brought. She had systematically gone through almost all of his books in the last couple of weeks.

Daniel finished his work out and sat at the edge of the weight bench. There wasn't much he could do so he waited as patiently as he could. Unfortunately, Dr. Lam wasn't as patient. She finally just gave up and helped D'Nala sit up. The other woman slid into her wheelchair with ease and rolled towards the door.

"She is so stubborn," the medical doctor grumbled as she wrote down everything in D'Nala's file.

"We did tell her she would never walk again. Now you're suddenly so sure she can. She's already accepted that she will not walk," Daniel replied. "I'm not entirely sure we should continue if she's not interested."

"Doesn't she want to go home? Live a normal life?"

"What home? It's a black hole. I've noticed she adapts very well. She functions at a higher level than we do so it's easier for her to adapt to her situations. She's learned how to read and speak so many languages, but she's programmed to write in Latin. She's adjusted so well it's scary. Now you want to send her away?"

"She doesn't know what's going on."

Daniel was highly offended on D'Nala's behalf. "She knows more than you think."

He left the doctor in the gym and headed to the showers to clean up. Everyone had said the same thing. D'Nala should leave, should go somewhere where she was fully trusted. But were they really going to send her away with all the knowledge she had? In the short amount of time she had been here, she had learned the ins and outs of the SGC. She had too much knowledge. If she wanted to leave, they would have to do something.

But she also had so much knowledge to share. If they could just pull her memories out from behind the wall that had been erected, she could tell them so much about her galaxy. She could tell them what her drawings meant. But they were going so slow on that. If something didn't happen soon, they would send her away.

Not really liking where those thoughts took him and the emotions they elicited, Daniel showered and returned to his quarters. Just as he opened the door, a book nearly smashed him in the face. He jerked back seconds before it broke his nose.

D'Nala was across the room from him at his desk with a notebook and a stack of his books. The book that had nearly hit him settled on the top of the stack and flipped open. He didn't say anything at first – he was too shocked to speak – but he walked over to his desk.

Before him were ancient Latin books and references to Rome. D'Nala had a legal size piece of paper stretched out before her and sketches of the Roman Senate House. She had already done this before, but this was the interior. It was more like a shrine than a Senate meeting.

She was reading one of his books so he picked up the paper. He had seen a model of the Senate building of ancient Rome, the one where Julius Caesar was assassinated, but he had never seen one like this. It was circular with a couple of rows of seats. Instead of being filled to capacity with seating for the Senators, it had three throne-like chairs.

"D'Nala," he said, "what is this?"

She glanced at it then shrugged. "I don't remember. It just came to mind so I drew it. Who's Caesar?" she asked.

"Which one?" It was an automatic response. He was preoccupied with the sketch.

"Jul…i…us?" She sounded the name out.

"Julius Caesar was Emperor of the Roman Empire, your ancestors. What does this mean?" He pointed to statue with an eagle wrapped around something he couldn't make out. All around it were stars, a moon and a sun.

D'Nala stared at it for a long moment then shook her head. "I don't know."

They still hadn't figured out how to access her memories even with her drawings. She was having flashbacks which resulted in many drawings and writings that Daniel had put in a notebook with the dates they had been drawn/written. It was one of the reasons she couldn't sleep. Too much resurgence made her jittery. So far only Daniel had been able to get her to sleep without sedatives.

General Landry had said something about contacting the Tok'ra, but so far nothing had come of it. Besides, Dr. Lam wanted to use the old fashion way to recover her memories. No one was sure if the electronic device the Tok'ra used for memory retrieval would even work, or if D'Nala would go into a trance and short circuit it like she had almost done with Stargate.

"Daniel, what's this word?" D'Nala asked. She had gone back to reading.

Daniel looked over her shoulder. "It means 'to protect.' Why?"

"The inscription on the pedestal. 'To protect those who can't protect themselves'."

He looked at the statue behind the chairs. She was correct; that's what the inscription said. His eyes roved over the paper again until they settled on the chairs. At the top of each was a symbol an inscription: Sun, Moon, Stars.

"Nala, can you draw the people who would sit in these chairs?" he asked.

She looked at them then up at him. "It may take some time. I may not be able to do it at all."

He gripped her face gently, his thumbs running over her cheeks. She stared up at him, not uncomfortable but not turning into it. "Take all the time you need." He dropped his hands and turned towards the closet for a long sleeved shirt.

"Daniel, are they going to send me away?"

He was in the middle of pulling his shirt over his head when her quiet voice filtered to him. She was once again turned away from him so all he could see was her white head. But her voice had trembled when emotion as her thick accent stumbled over her words.

He was torn about being honest and outright lying to her. He wanted to say not but knew he couldn't back up that statement. He walked over to her and kneeled in front of her, taking her hands into his hands and pressing them together.

"You know too much, Nala. We couldn't send you away even if we wanted. You've learned so much in two weeks we're all a little wary."

"I won't hurt you."

"Not intentionally, but we have no idea what your powers do or why they're activated by being close to the Stargate. You're highly intelligent but we have no idea if you'll say anything. We can't all anything to harm the earth. Even you."

She let her gaze drop and pulled her hands from his. "So I'm a prisoner."

Daniel hung his head because this had gone all wrong. He placed his hands on her knees and squeezed gently. "You're not a prisoner. We wouldn't let prisoners anywhere near our files or books. Think of it like you're a consultant."

"What is that?"

"It's kind of like you're an ambassador. You help us understand what little you know of Io and we help you understand earth. So pretty much what you've been doing." He reached up to touch her face. "I won't let them send you away without a valid reason."

She answered him by gripping his hand and kissing it. That wasn't the first time she had done that either, but he understood it as her way of saying thank you when she couldn't find the words to say how she felt.

After sharing a gentle smile, he left her and walked over to his bed. Settling down, he delved into a book on ancient Mesopotamia. They were silent for a long while; the only real sounds were pages turning and a pencil scratching. It hadn't been this quiet in days, but then again SG-1 had left a few days before. Daniel was slightly bummed that he didn't go, but the last few days were ones he wouldn't have wanted to miss.

The alarms started blaring as a wormhole opened. He rolled off the bed and pulled D'Nala away from the desk. She didn't want to go but he pulled her away from it anyway. They headed down the hallway to the elevator, passing plenty of people but saying nothing. Daniel wasn't entirely sure what was going on.

They came to the Gate Room just as SG-1 came through the Stargate. They were dirty and sweaty but in one piece. Vala and Cam were obviously arguing over something unimportant but arguing nonetheless.

Daniel looked down at D'Nala to find her staring at something Teal'c had in his hands. The Jaffa was holding a crystal, but Daniel had seen it somewhere before. He couldn't place where though.

D'Nala immediately followed Sam as she ushered Teal'c to her lab. Nothing good was going to come of that so Daniel went after them.

"Sir, the Callistonians – their name, not ours – put up a fight when we tried to bring this back. I think they worship it or something," Sam said as Teal'c set the clear crystal on the table.

"Why would they worship a crystal?" Landry asked.

"Honoris Cristallum," D'Nala muttered. They all looked at her.

Daniel frowned as she rolled forward and placed a hand on the crystal. A white light flooded the room, illuminating the woman's skin. Sam looked around the room to make sure the computers weren't acting up. For once they weren't.

When D'Nala removed their hand, a hologram of stars appeared.

"Only the most honorable can activate the crystal," she said as the light disappeared back into the crystal. Her voice sounded odd and even though the light was gone, her skin glowed faintly.

"I'll…be right back," Daniel said. He patted Cam on the shoulder and left the room quickly.

Sam looked over the crystal. "Sir, it's a star map. The Ionians have a star map."

"The Callistonians have had the map for years. We sent it through the Chappa'ai to protect it," D'Nala said as she slowly stood.

They all looked at each other because no one expected it. Landry looked at vala and she left quickly. They were shocked. She hadn't tried to stand in two weeks.

"The crystal must have a healing effect," Teal'c said.

Cam nodded. "That's not the only effect it has."

He was right. D'Nala's hair was luminous as its silvery whiteness glistened. Her silver eyes were bright, reflecting the light held in the crystal. Her skin looked as if she were a celestial being. She took a step towards the back of the table. When she did so, her clothes changed to an off-white dress with hints of gray.

She touched a star and it blew up on the map. "The Ionian's sun trajectory has been altered by the black hole. Very soon it will collide with Callist's sun, causing a massive explosion that will rock the galaxy."

Daniel returned with the paper D'Nala had been drawing on. He held it up for her to see. She looked at it then up at him.

"What does this mean?" he asked.

"D'Ardin of the Sun, L'Aquila of the Moon, and D'Nala of the Stars; the Keepers of the Honoris Cristellum and respected Leaders of Io," she replied.

He licked his lips. "Who are you?"

"D'Nala of the Stars, Head Keeper of the Crystal and most powerful of the Leaders. I am the only one who can activate the crystal."

"Because you are honorable." She inclined her head to him. Daniel pointed to the star map. "Is this complete?"

"It is. The Ionians, Callistonians, Ganymeaens, and Ropaeans joined forces centuries ago to plot the galaxy of our home worlds. We have shared knowledge on everything we have found. We lived in peace, but due to the combined forces of Cronos and the Ori severed those links. When you killed Cronos, we opened our home to the planet Rhea, one of the planets controlled by Cronos."

"I'm guessing this didn't go over well with your friends," Sam said.

D'Nala smiled as Dr. Lam came in. "It was a long and arduous process but finally we had an agreement. The Rheans even helped build some of our cities. But peace was the last thing on our list. We had an even bigger matter. The Ori were out to take our star map and use it to destroy our galaxy if we didn't not convert to the Teachings of Origin."

She touched the crystal again and the map shifted. "This Crystal was given to us when our societies were founded. It was decided that three individuals would be selected to guard the crystal, as would the planets. D'Ardin, L'Aquila and I were born with the essences of the Sun, the Moon and the Stars."

Sam took a seat at the table and poked the crystal. "How can you be born of the essences of the sun, the moon and the stars? They're just astronomical gases and chunks of rock."

D'Nala smiled. "D'Ardin was of the Sun, meaning she could sense when something was not right with our sun or if there was going to be solar eclipse. L'Aquila is of the Moon. He knows when an asteroid or any other material has collided with our moons. The stars are infinite. I take the essence of the sun and the other celestial bodies of gas."

"What did you mean when you said 'most powerful'?" Cam asked.

"I think I have an answer to that," Daniel said. "Before you came back, she was making books move in my room. Without touching them. I think telekinesis is part of that, as well as an electrical current of sorts. It's how they protected the crystal."

"I had a pendent that I always wore. It was about yea big with a the constellation of Leo on the front." She made a circle with her hands to show the size. "It was used in synchrony with D'Ardin's and L'Aquila's to guard the crystal, but it could be used alone."

"We put it in storage because we weren't sure what it did. We will give it to you shortly," landry said.

"Nala, is there anything else you can tell us?" Daniel asked. She tilted her head at him. "Like how you can stand?"

"Healing properties in the crystal. I don't know how long they will last, though I am very fond of my chair. No one gets in my way."

Everyone laughed as the crystal suddenly winked out. Without its constant glow, D'Nala's knees buckled and she started to tip. She was closer to Cam so he rushed forward and caught her before she hit her head on one of Sam's tables. Dr. Lam pushed the chair forward and Cam adjusted her so she could sit down. Lam started a preliminary exam as Daniel kneeled in front of her.

"Do you have all of your memories?" he asked.

She shook her head as Lam scribbled something on a piece of paper. "For the most part. I know who I am, where I'm from, what everything means. There are a few things that are still fuzzy, but I'm sure it will all come back over time. I'm quite well, doctor."

Dr. Lam stood and put her hands on her hips. "I would feel better if you let me do some tests. Lt. Colonel Carter will do some tests on the crystal to see if we can figure out what is going on."

"Just don't touch it with your bare hands. Your brain is not strong enough to handle all the information."

"I will keep that in mind."

"Can Daniel come with us?" D'Nala asked as she and Dr. Lam headed for the infirmary. The doctor looked over her shoulder and raised an eyebrow in question.

Vala nudged Daniel. "Someone has a little crush."

Daniel made a face then looked down at the paper crumpled in his hand. "I'm not entirely sure it's one sided."

Vala stared at him as he followed the women.


	5. Chapter 5

Daniel lay in bed with D'Nala at his side. He had decided she should sleep after her tests with Dr. Lam. She had argued with him and told him he was being a horse's ass, but had ultimately decided it wasn't worth it.

Her hair was a stark contrast to his black shirt as it fanned out across his chest. She had taken it would of the braid she had been wearing earlier and brushed it until shone almost like it had when the crystal had been activated. As it was, he was running his fingers through its silkiness as his mind went on a tangent.

Vala's statement had been plaguing him for hours. Not once had he thought D'Nala had a crush on him, or vice versa. He had taken an interest in her because she could only speak ancient Latin. Now she was well versed in speaking English, but writing it was a hassle since writing was an automatic gesture.

Could he have a crush on her? Her knowledge was immense and she was learning more every day. She had just opened doorways to another galaxy and five other worlds that they had never explored or even knew the Stargate system reached. If they allowed her, she would be a valuable asset to the program.

D'Nala shifted, stretching languidly like a cat, then nuzzled his shoulder. She sighed against his skin. When she moved her legs, one of his legs wedged between hers. She settled down again. It was only a few seconds later that he realized she had moved her legs. The crystal must have done more repairs than they thought.

His hand spanned her back and pressed her closer to him. She was essentially a priestess of the highest order. And he had given her a pet name. The embarrassment of that hit him hard. He had never done something like before. He had never been so dishonorable before.

She was regal and almost royal. Why would he do something like that?

"Daniel, go to sleep." He turned his head at her sleepy voice. "You keep fidgeting."

"Sorry. I'm just thinking," he replied.

"Shall I leave?"

"Will you sleep?"

"Probably not."

"Then no." He tightened his arm around her. "Nala, why did your memories disappear?"

"I guess it was because we removed our memories and placed them in the crystal. As long as the crystal was in close proximity to us, we could access them. When we sent it to Callist, our memories went with it. When I touched the crystal, I accessed D'Ardin and L'Aquila's memories as well. If we fine tune the crystal, I'm sure we could find out what they knew as well."

She lifted her head and looked at him. "Why do you call me Nala when no one else does?"

Daniel was captured by those silver eyes. He lifted his free hand to her face. She turned her head in question. "I don't know."

"I must warn you that only couples that are betrothed are allowed to show public displays of affection," she said.

"Good thing we're not in public."

"We are not betrothed either."

"I don't really care."

Daniel pulled her head down and kissed her. She didn't respond immediately, but he was okay with that. She pressed her hand to his chest and pulled away. Without even motioning to it, her chair rolled over to her. She turned and slid into it. Daniel watched her leave his side.

"I'm sorry," he said. "I didn't mean to push you into something against your culture."

"You didn't push me. I'm just not comfortable with it," she replied.

He understood her meaning immediately. He sat up in bed, the sheet pooling around his waist. "You've never been courted by a man at all, have you?"

"The only one of us who was married was L'Aquila, and that's because he didn't take his position until he was in his teens. D'Ardin and I were taken to the Senate when we were seven, well before our majority. We were told never to allow a man to touch us unless it was ordained by the gods, Juno in particular."

"Goddess of marriage." She inclined her head. "I never meant to offend."

"I'm not offended, Daniel, just wary." She grabbed the file she had been working on off his desk. "Come with me."

"You're supposed to be asleep," he grumbled as he got up.

"Well, I'm awake now. Let's go. You can sleep in an hour."

Leaving his bed a rumpled mess and not bothering to change his pajama pants, Daniel followed her down the hall. They stepped into the elevator and D'Nala pushed the button for Level 19. Daniel frowned because he had been certain she was going to his lab to use his books. What would she need in Sam's lab?

"I saw something in the crystal memory about a planet that has raw naquadah. Sam said something the other day about not having enough to scout the entire galaxy around the black hole my planet is now. I'm not sure if it's Callist or Ropa, but I'm certain I can figure it out. I need to see a hard copy of a star map so I can map it all out," she said.

"How does it not map out?" he asked as the elevator stopped moving. The doors opened and he stepped out. It was quiet for once. Then again it could be due to the fact that it was three in the morning and everyone was asleep.

"I'm not sure. It may be due to the explosion of Io. I need to see if everything was altered by the new black hole. I think it was."

She put in Sam's pass code that she had memorized and rolled into the room. The Honoris Cristellum sat on the middle table looking very docile. D'Nala touched the crystal and the same thing happened, except this time her clothes didn't change. She stayed in the black tank and blue military pants, but she stood. The crystal gave her a chance to use her legs.

"Why do you need me here?" he asked as he pulled himself up onto a side table.

"I can use the crystal as long I need without any repercussions to my mental state. However, after a certain amount of time my legs will weaken and I will have to sit. I'm not entirely sure I will know when I have to sit down. I'm going to need you to monitor that for me. Last thing I need is a concussion."

He agreed with that and sat back to watch her work. The crystal and its contents were very impressive. It allowed D'Nala to sync up two figures and work from there. He was finally able to see how she was one of the most prestigious astrophysicists. He was certain she was better than Sam now that she had her memories.

"How are you the only one able to activate the crystal?" he asked.

"It was bonded to my DNA to ensure that no one could take advantage of it. It is a source of great power. If that power was harnessed for evil-doings, it could destroy three consecutive galaxies. We were tested when I came of age and I proved to be the only one who could shoulder the responsibility," she replied as she continued working.

"Do you ever feel it drawing you to it?"

"No. I have never wanted the power it possesses. I have just protected it. I think that's why I was chosen. Power has never been my main focus."

"What has been?"

"Life. I have had a rigorous schedule since I was granted the position, even more so than my co-Leaders. It's such a huge responsibility our regents thought we should be on a schedule so it wouldn't get too hectic for us. I was rarely ever off-world for anything, except that diplomatic mission to Callist."

"So you've tried to stay sane?" She nodded. "You must have had something else to preoccupy your mind. It would get really boring not having a personal life."

"I loved to draw. My regent D'Lina said I was a natural artist who could make a thought beautiful. It's how I communicated with you". She glanced at him briefly. "I loved to learn new languages. We were three of the brightest students in the academy. We had so much potential to learn. It's why I am able to take in all the information, the languages, and other things you have given me. I will continue to learn as long as I live."

She fell silent again as she opened another file-type thing. She overlapped all of them and stood in front of Daniel as she looked them over. She made notes of everything she saw and didn't see. Then she wrote down gate addresses and coordinates if there wasn't an address.

"Do you see anything out of the ordinary?" he asked.

"Maybe, but I'm not completely certain," she replied. "Is there any way I can upload this to the SGC's mainframe?"

"You'd have to ask Sam that. She's the only one who would know how."

She was in the middle of doing something else when her knees suddenly gave way. Daniel barely had time to get off his table and cushion her fall. Unfortunately, he hit his head on the metal table. He groaned as he sat up, pulling D'Nala to him.

"Are you okay?" she asked.

He looked at her with one eye open as he rubbed his head. "Yeah, I'm fine. Are you okay?"

"I'm great. I just wish I knew when the effects would wear off. This is going to get tiresome." She was slightly shocked when he tipped her head back and kissed her once again. She wasn't used to this and didn't know what to do. She gently pushed him away. "Daniel…"

He tried to close the gap once again but she held a hand against his chest. He rested his forehead against hers and sighed out his nose. He gathered her to him and lifted her off the floor. When she was settled back in her chair, D'Nala hit the crystal again and it went dark.

"Shouldn't you go to the infirmary?" she asked as they were heading down the hallway again.

"It's not that bad. Just a hit on the head," he replied.

"Daniel, you hit a metal table. Go to the infirmary. It's only three floors up from your quarters."

"Our quarters if you're going to continue coming to mine." He realized what he had said and looked down at her. She wasn't staring at him. "I speak before I think sometimes. You'll just have to ignore me."

She didn't answer him as they stepped into the elevator and hit the button for Level 21. He knew from experience that when she was like this, she was either thinking or planning something. When she got something stuck in her head, it was hard to get it out.

It took less time for him to get his head checked out and be sent off with a clean bill of health than it did to work on D'Nala's crystal maps. They were back in the elevator headed down to their quarters when it occurred to him that D'Nala wasn't going to come back his. He was proven right when she rolled right past his room.

"Nala, come on," he said. "Let's go back to bed."

"I'm awake. You go to bed. You have to go off world with SG-5. I'm going to stay here and work on my memories and maps," she said.

"Nala, just come back to my quarters."

"No, Daniel. I'm going to my quarters to work. I'll see you later in the morning."

She went into her room and locked the door. Daniel stood in the hallway for a few moments before biting back a curse and going into his room. This was a sucky way to go to sleep.


	6. Chapter 6

"Nala, are you ever going to talk to me?"

D'Nala moved away from Daniel as fast as her wheelchair would take her. He had gone off world and come back in an even worse mood than he had left. She had stayed away from the Gate Room when he had come back from wherever he had been. She and Sam had been interfacing the crystal to the SGC's mainframe when the off-world activation alarm went off. She had tried to be scarce, but Daniel had found her.

For the last hour he had been trying to get her to tlak to him. It was getting annoying because she was trying to do work. She had gathered all the books she had needed from his lab after he had left so she wouldn't have had to see him when he got back. She had been locked away in one of the obscure rooms on Level 15 when he had come in.

She hit the close button on the elevator doors and watched as Daniel ran right into them. Why hadn't he left well enough alone? She had told him what her culture demanded and yet he had continued. What had he been thinking? And why wasn't she as mad at him as she should be? She had been raised to never let a man who wasn't her betrothed to touch her. Daniel hadn't known that at first, but even after she had told him, he had continued.

Feeling that her emotions were very raw and jittery, she emerged on Level 25 at the same time Daniel came from the stairwell. She turned her chair and went towards her quarters that were right next to his. She opened the door and rolled in and was just about to slam it closed when Daniel put his foot in the way. He shoved the door open just as she moved out of the way.

She went over to her table and tossed his books on the table. She knew he cringed as he watched her, but she wasn't interested in how he felt about her books.

"Nala, you have to talk to me," he said.

She didn't have to if she didn't want to. Sam had taught her how to use earth's computer and she wanted to put her newfound toy to work. She got work on putting everything she could remember into words. Later she would have to ask Sam or even Daniel to translate the whole thing because she still couldn't write in English.

"D'Nala!" Daniel whipped the chair around so she would look at him. He held his hands up in front of his face with his fingers sprawled and bent. She thought he was going to strangle her, but then he put them together and shook them. "Nala, please, please. Just talk to me. What is going on?"

The look on his face told her he had been agonizing over this since she had left him in his room two nights ago. He had seen her at breakfast and tried to talk to her but she had refused. Now he was pleading with her to talk to him. Finally he just dropped his head.

She watched him carefully. He was so beaten up. Should she ease his suffering? Or should she watch him torture himself some more?

Unable to see the look on his face, she edged forward. She took his hand and pressed it to her face then kissed his hand. He looked up at her, a shocked look on his face. He brought the other hand up and held her face gently. She pulled her head back and stared at him. When he moved in, she hit him in the chest hard enough to throw him off balance.

"What the hell was that for?" he asked.

"This is why I haven't been talking to you," she said as she shoved the chair into motion and headed out of her room.

Daniel tried to remember what had happened before he left. When he came to what had happened in his bed, he cursed and got up. He guessed where she was going to go and took the fire escape stairwell to head her off. He beat her coming off the elevator and stopped her chair by putting his hands on the armrests. Airmen and civilians passing by stared at them.

"I'm sorry, but I don't regret what I did. I would kiss you again if you wouldn't knock me on my ass for it," he said. "When Vala told me I had a crush on you, I didn't believe it. I thought it was you who had the crush. But you're a hell of a let better at hiding what you're feeling because you've been told that anything sexual is off limits. I'm not."

"You don't listen," she said. "I have to be pure to activate the crystal."

"No you don't. You have to be honorable. If you love someone, it's normal to show that physically."

"You don't love me, Daniel, and I don't love you. Not as a mate anyway."

That was a slap in the face, but he had had a feeling that it was the case. "You can't tell me how I feel. You don't know what goes on in my head. I know you're not a telepath because you have never mentioned it. Now there is a big probability that I will kiss you again."

"What about Vala?"

He pulled a face then shook his head. "What about her?"

"She obviously likes you. And here you are with me. Why don't you go back to her?"

"This is Vala we're talking about. She is egotistical, annoying, and quite frankly insane. I respect her for everything she has gone through but I have no romantic feelings for her at all." She glared up at him and tried to move but he locked her wheels. "You're not going anywhere."

D'Nala was angry. She put her hand on Daniel's chest and sent out a burst of telekinetic power. It wasn't enough to hurt him but enough to move him from out in front of her. He hit the wall but she cushioned the blow so he didn't hit his head. He stared up at her and she down at him. Something inside didn't feel right so she unlocked her wheels and continued down the hallway.

Daniel sat against the wall and watched her disappear. This couldn't be even more wrong. He had wanted to get her to talk to him, not fight with him. But things don't always go the way they should. She would be at dinner tonight so he would see her then.

* * *

><p>D'Nala worked straight through dinner and the briefing Sam had made concerning her star map. She had completely blanked on it, working in one of the extra labs on one of the other Levels. She had lost track of time in using some of the raw and unused materials to construct the statue to house the crystal. Then she had to build a housing station for the eternal battery powered by naquadah. She then had to install it. All of that work had taken nearly eight hours. By the time she had looked at the clock, it was well after midnight and half the base was asleep.<p>

She took the elevator to her room, muttering to herself about how stupid she had been about missing dinner and the briefing. She opened her door and rolled right on in. She was about to hit the lights when they came on by themselves. Looking around, she spotted Daniel sitting on her bed. He wasn't too happy.

Closing her eyes in quiet hatred, she went to her table and set her books down only to see her cold dinner. Daniel had brought it up because she had skipped dinner. Her stomach growled in protest of missing dinner and in delight at the sight of food. But she knew she couldn't touch it.

"You didn't have to do this," she said.

"You have a tendency to have a one-track mind, and forget that you need to do normal functions like eat and use the restroom," he replied. He slapped his hands on his thighs and stood. "I'm going to go."

D'Nala watched him leave then turned back to her table. She started writing in her book as she ate the vegetables and rice even thought they were cold. (Everyone on Io is a vegetarian, the only difference to ancient Rome.) Things were quiet for a few moments before her door slammed open again. She was in the process of turning around on her own when she was suddenly spun around. She didn't have time to talk because Daniel once again smashed his mouth to hers. Even when he pulled back, he didn't give her time to say a word.

"Now that you have your memories back, you are the most intelligent, spastic, and annoying woman I know, but for some odd reason I like that about you. Your culture dictates that you can't touch a man like this unless he is your betrothed, but you aren't on Io or Callist or any of the other planets in your galaxy. You can do what you want. I understand that you have to be honorable because of the crystal, but you have to honor your feelings too."

This time when he gripped her face, it was rougher than ever before. "I like you way more than I should and I know for a fact that you like me more than you should."

"You are the only one who was so patient with me when I couldn't remember anything. You gave me so many books and manuscripts and maps and whatever I needed or asked for. You even translated all my dumb questions," she said.

"Then what's the problem?"

"You are asking me to disregard everything I have been taught."

Daniel tossed his hands up in the air and paced away a few steps. Then he turned around, paced back, and shook his hands in her face. "You are a grown woman! You can do whatever the hell you want!"

"Stop yelling at me!"

"I'm not yel…" He stopped because that's what he was about to do. "I'm not yelling at you. I'm pointing out a fact. You can do whatever you want. You don't have to uphold your ideals. Your people are gone, as are the elements of the Sol, Luna, Stellarum. The only worship you need is from a man who is willing to stand by you through your lunacy."

He stood there staring at her for the longest. Teal'c had gone through the same thing when he had come to earth from Chulak. He hadn't wanted to give up his beliefs and customs because he had technically immigrated. But over time he had come to give up some of them. Now he was a thriving member of the SGC.

D'Nala locked the wheels to her chair and pressed her hands on to the armrests. Daniel reached towards her to help her up, but she waved him away. She gripped one of his hands and pulled herself up. Then she shuffled her feet and stepped into his personal space. She was very wobbly it was annoying. She shifted her feet until one knee was between his and pivoted until said knee was pressed gently into his.

Daniel held her hands in his and pulled them up to his chest. He didn't know why but this was somehow different. D'Nala had never tried to stand, even after using the crystal. After Dr. Lam had given up on rehab, she had quit working on it. Not like she had before anyway.

"We have to die to change who is the Sol, Luna, Stellarum. If I am still alive, no one else can be born to take my place," she said.

Daniel pulled her to him. "I'm not going to kill you."

"I'm not asking you to."

She winced a little. "I can't stand like this for long."

He nodded. "I can take care of that."

He picked her up and walked her to the bed. Slowly, he dropped her to the bed and crawled in after her. He kept his body off her, making certain she wasn't boxed in. She couldn't go anywhere but she could roll off the bed fast enough to hurt herself. He didn't want that.

She gripped his shirt and pulled him down. Daniel Jackson was gone the first second her lips met his.


	7. Chapter 7

Daniel woke up and was a little disoriented. He had no idea where he was. The last thing he remembered was…

D'Nala held on to the wall as she came out of her lavatory. By the time his brain caught up to his eyes, she was already back on the bed. Everything that had happened the night before came flooding back to him. He looked at her as she situated herself to the position she had been sleeping in since they had passed out.

Glancing at the clock, he read 3:34 am. He had never been asleep at this time since D'Nala had come through the Stargate. Because her memories had been locked away, D'Nala had been staying awake at all hours. She didn't want to sleep because she didn't want to see things in which she had no idea what they meant. Now that they were back, she still kept odd hours because she worked too damn much.

He rolled over and slung one arm across D'Nala's waist and buried his face in her white hair. He still couldn't believe that her features were so pale that he swore he could see through them. Her hair was so white he knew it had to be of starlight. Her eyes, when they weren't swirling with energy, were like liquid mercury.

The alarms for off-world activation went off. There were no teams that were currently gone. So SG-1 had to be present since they were the forerunners at the SGC. Groaning in agitation because he had just gotten comfortable, Daniel disentangled himself from D'Nala and got up.

"Can they please shut that off?" D'Nala asked as she rolled over to look at him.

He laughed as he tucked his shirt into pants. "Unfortunately we can't. SG-1 has to be in the Gate Room. It's an unspoken agreement between the five of us." He sat back down on the bed to put his boots on. "Maybe you should come with us."

D'Nala stretched, the sheet dropping low on her chest. "That means I have to get up."

He nodded. "Yes, that's the general concept of coming with us. You have to get up." He tied his laces then looked at her. She had her face buried in the pillow he had used. "I guess that means you're not going anywhere. All right. Well, I'll be back as soon as I can."

D'Nala didn't move for a few long moments after Daniel left. She tried to go back to sleep, but without him and his body heat it was useless. So she got up and pulled clothes on. It wasn't uniform but at least she was covered. She pulled her chair over to her and slid into it effortlessly. She went to her table and pulled out a file then set it in her lap. Then she was headed out the door and to the Gate Room.

The Gate Room was empty when she got there so she asked for help to go up the stairs to the briefing room. She knew she couldn't make it up the steps so one of the lieutenants picked her up and carried her up the stairs as another brought her chair. She hated that but it was the only way to do it. She said hello to Walter and a couple of the other technicians as she rolled through.

The door opened to the briefing room and she stopped suddenly. Her jaw fell slack as she stared into the room.

Daniel turned around as the door to the briefing room opened and D'Nala came through. He was pleasantly surprised that she was there but something in her face told him that she shouldn't have come. He followed her gaze to the man who had come through the Stargate. Something about the way she looked at him said she knew him.

"Daniel." He barely caught her tight voice. "Help me up."

He didn't argue but wasn't sure why she didn't just stand up. She gripped his hand and pulled her to her feet. The grip she kept on his hand told him she was nervous, but about what he had no idea.

"Dominae," the man said.

Daniel looked up at the Latin word for 'My Lady.' D'Nala shook beside him as she looked down at the man when he bowed. She didn't say anything as she adjusted her footing to stand up straighter. Her grip tightened even more seconds before she let go and took a few agonizing steps towards the man. Sam caught Daniel's eyes, and everything in their blue depths told him she wanted to know what was going on.

"Dominae Custos, everyone wondered what had happened to you. They all said you were dead," he said, his face turned to the ground. D'Nala didn't answer him, her face a mask of what emotion usually played there. He lifted his head to smirk at her. "You should have stayed dead."

They had two seconds to plan what they would do when the man attacked D'Nala. Since the muscles in her legs were weak, she couldn't stop her fall when the man shoved her. Daniel grabbed her against him as she fell as she threw her hands out and tossed the man into the air. He hit the ceiling then slammed into the floor.

"What the hell is going on?!" Landry demanded.

"That man sold all the secrets of the Honoris Cristellum to the Ori and plotted to kill D'Ardin, L'Aquila, and myself. He was the one that shot me," D'Nala said as Daniel pulled her up and set her into the chair.

"Why did he call you Dominae Custos?" Daniel asked. Everyone looked at him with blank faces. "It means 'My Lady Keeper' in Latin."

"It was my title. Everyone called me that, as well as D'Ardin. L'Aquila was Dominus Domino Custos, or Domino Custos. His name is Curoven. He was one of the most valued guards in the Senate. He was tasked with protecting D'Ardin when she ventured out into the city. Over time he became jealous of the suitors of D'Ardin for he loved her. He tried to suede me to his side by claiming betrothal to her, but I knew better. He just wanted to use her power to control the Senate, and thereby control us."

"How could they control you? Weren't you the ruling body of Io?" Cam asked.

D'Nala shook her head. "No. We were the Keepers of the Crystal and the Leaders, but we were not in charge. We listened when Senate was in session and advised when needed, but we never made decisions without warrant. Curoven did not like that so he raised a coup to overthrow the Senators."

"It's what started your war?" Vala asked.

"Unfortunately yes. A third of the population rose up against the Senators and the general population. Our families were slaughtered so we would have no one to turn to. So the Senators' families started a movement of sorts. We were hidden and moved from house to house until we neared the Chappa'ai."

"So it was kind of like you were in an underground railroad," Sam said. D'Nala tilted her head in question as Vala and Teal'c showed confusion. Sam smiled. "The Underground Railroad was a network of houses during the time when our country was fighting against slavery. People would say a password to let the slaves know their houses were part of the network. The families would hide the runaway slaves for days at a time until it was safe to move them."

"Then that is what it was. We were hidden until we could move to the next secure place. Luckily we sent the Honoris Cristellum to Callist when we heard the first whispers of rebellion."

D'Nala rolled over to the table and dropped the file to the table. Landry snatched it up and opened it. "Curoven went after D'Ardin first. We were already on our way to Chappa'ai when he an Ori Prior attacked us. D'Ardin was shot but she continued on. It was at that moment I realized that L'Aquila was not with us. He had already gone to the Chappa'ai and dialed the gate address the Callist crystal keeper had sent us. He was killed seconds before I went through the gate."

"Then you landed here," Landry said. "You have everything up until your arrival here organized into this file. I'm glad you have your memories back, but this is a lot to take in. Now, how did Curoven get here?"

She shrugged. "I'm not sure. He must have been on transported to Callist before Io exploded. When you went through the Chappa'ai the second time, he must have memorized the gate address, but couldn't get through since it was in constant use with missions. There is a time difference between this world and the one from whence he came. He had no way of knowing what time it was here."

"Nala, should we kill him?" Daniel asked.

"I don't want to, no, but if he attacks you, you may have no choice. He is a fierce warrior, one of the best I have ever watched train. The only one greater than him was L'Aquila."

Landry nodded, as if making a mental note. "Take him to the brig. D'Nala, I want you to go to the infirmary and get checked out. I want to make sure you're not injured before you start working with Dr. Jackson and Colonel Carter on figuring out what he wants and why he's here. Daniel, don't let her go anywhere else until she's been checked out."

Daniel held the door open so she could go before him. She was reluctant to do so but finally went. She stopped at the top of the stairs, and he lifted her from the chair. He sat in front of her and let her climb on his back. A lieutenant picked up her chair and carried it down the stairs. Daniel should have put her down when he entered the corridor. He could have taken the elevator down the corridor from Landry's office, but it was just quicker to go down the stairs. He did take the elevator to Level 21 because four flights of stairs just weren't feasible.

"Daniel," Dr. Lam said as he walked into the infirmary. She looked amused to see him carrying D'Nala piggyback. "Landry said you were on your way. What happened?"

"The new guy that came through the Stargate knocked her on her back. I caught her but Landry wants to make sure there's no damage done," he replied as he turned and set D'Nala on a bed.

"I'm all right but I have to work later on. I think they want to make sure I'm not concussed or anything like that," D'Nala said.

"All right. I'm going to give you a full checkup just in case. Can you unbutton your shirt for me please?"

She did as she was asked, and when Lam turned around, her eyes widened slightly. She cleared her throat then started her exam. When she spoke, she lowered her voice. "It's probably a good thing you always wear long sleeves, but in the future, tell Daniel to ease up on the love bites." D'Nala frowned in confusion. The doctor pointed a purple mark on her collarbone. "This is what happens when someone sucks too hard on the flesh. It draws the blood to the top."

D'Nala looked at Daniel frantically. He frowned at her sudden agitation but she looked at Dr. Lam again. "I didn't know."

"It's okay. I'm just giving you a little advice. If someone sees it, they will get the wrong idea."

Mortally embarrassed, D'Nala was even more aware of Daniel's presence in the infirmary.

Somewhere in the middle of the exam, she felt her sense of stability being ripped away. She saw her skin glowing seconds before she was ripped away from the present and thrown into the past. Last time this happened, she had nearly short circuited the Stargate. Now she could only imagine what was going on.

Daniel pulled Dr. Lam back when D'Nala's pupils disappeared as her eyes turned molten. He looked around to see the medical instruments going haywire and the lights flickering. It wasn't as bad as the first couple of times it happened but it wasn't light either. This time he hoped she would remember whatever it was she saw.

This trance didn't last as long as the first one. Once D'Nala's eyes were back to their weird cat-like pupils, he stepped forward. She looked right at him and shook her head. She wasn't going to talk about it here.

Dr. Lam finished her exam and stuck her hands in her lab coat. "Well, it doesn't seem like there's too much damage. How's that blip that allows you to only write in Latin?"

"It's still there," D'Nala replied. "Am I okay?"

"You're fine. No head trauma other than the blip. You're clear to do whatever it is you need to do. But the only thing I'm going to order you to do is get a little more sleep. You can't do anything while sleep deprived. Daniel."

Daniel put one hand on D'Nala's face before he turned around and bent his knees. He gripped her arms then bounced so she was on his back. When she tightened her arms, he grabbed her knees and walked towards the elevator. If anyone asked, he was enjoying this way too much.

He smiled when she dropped her head to her arm. "I really hate this. I hate being semi-dependent. I wish I could go back and change that day, but then I'm certain I wouldn't have learned as much as I have. I could be dead too."

"That's a comforting thought," he replied drily. She sighed and buried her face in her arm. "Nala, if you hadn't made it through the Chappa'ai – and I don't know why you still call it that – the rest of the people who believed in you and that crystal you protect would have died. Curoven would have won and replaced everyone with people he could control."

"It wouldn't have worked." Her voice was muffled by her arm but he understood it anyway. "You have to be born with the power of the Sol, Luna, Stellarum. It's not bestowed upon you and you can't take it. It's a birthright. Curoven would have had to wait until the next three children – two girls and a boy – were born with the trinity powers. He would have had to take them away from their families and raise them as his own to control them. We're raised with an enormous sense of right and wrong."

"So he would have to skew that line?" She nodded. "Nala, can you give up your birthright?"

"It's never been done."

"I didn't ask that. I asked if you could do it."

"I'm not sure."

"Have you asked?"

"There's no one to ask anymore."

She had a point. But something irked him. "Could you ask someone on one of the other planets?"

"Daniel, I won't give it up. Not because I'm power hungry or because I enjoy having power, but because I am the only one who knows how powerful and resourceful that crystal is. I'm the only one in my people's recorded history who has been able to withstand the power of that crystal. I don't know why, but I know Curoven hates it."

Daniel stepped off the elevator and turned towards his room. "He can't control you. Actually, I don't think no one has ever controlled you."

He opened the door to his room and she lifted her head. "What are you doing?"

"Lam said you need more sleep, so damn it you're going to get more sleep. No arguing with me." He kicked the door shut with the heel of his boot.


	8. Chapter 8

D'Nala sat in monitoring room and watched Daniel and Cam interrogated Curoven. After he had been zapped by a ZAT gun in Teal'c's possession when he had gone after her again, he had been tossed into the brig again. Now he was sitting in a windowless room with two men who were annoying and very insistent.

A cup appeared in front of her face, blocking her view from the window. On the other end was Vala. The woman smiled then sat down beside her. The chair on her other side screeched as it moved, and Sam filled in the gap. They sipped the hot liquids in their cups and stared at the window.

Curious, D'Nala picked hers up and took a sip. Sweetness engulfed her taste buds and she leaned back to stare at the cup. It swirled with brown liquid, but it wasn't coffee and it didn't bubble so it wasn't soda. Daniel had introduced her to both of those drinks and she had found that she enjoyed them. But this wasn't either one of those. She took another sip.

"What is this?" she asked as she licked her lips.

Sam smiled brightly. "It's hot chocolate. When adults are drinking coffee, children drink this. It's less addictive." She pointed to the screen. "Anything interesting?"

She shook her head. "No. Curoven hasn't given them much of anything, just the same things that I said earlier. I still haven't figured out why he's here."

"Maybe you should go down and talk to him?" Vala said. The other woman shook her head. "Why not?"

"He may attack me again. I can't defend myself like I once could."

"He won't do anything if Cam and Daniel are in there. And Teal'c is guarding the door. You'll be fully protected," Sam consoled.

D'Nala wasn't convinced. but she found herself leaving the monitoring room and going down the hall to the brig. Teal'c raised an eyebrow at the three women then opened the door. D'Nala glanced over her shoulder at the other two then took a deep breath and went. Daniel was across the room to her immediately.

"What the hell are you doing?" he demanded as he leaned down to speak to her. His voice was so low she could barely hear.

"He'll talk to me," she replied just as equally quiet.

"He'll attack you."

She grabbed his face and made him look her in the eye. "I'll be fine."

She knew he wasn't certain so she let go and adjusted the chair's direction so she could go by him. She nodded at Cam. He wasn't too thrilled either but he leaned against the wall.

Curoven's face shifted when she came towards him. Unlike the three Keepers who had wild colored hair and eyes, Curoven had been blessed with handsome features. His dark hair was shaggy and twisted gently into dreads that framed his big green eyes. He watched her giddily as she rolled up beside him. He looked her over.

"What in the heavens is that?" he asked.

"It's called a wheelchair. When you shot me as I went through the Chappa'ai, a fragment of the weapon lodged itself in my spine. I'm partially paralyzed. I use this chair as means to get around when I can't stand up any longer," she replied. She folded her hands in her lap. "Why are you here?"

"I had been told you were alive."

"You lie. You didn't know I was alive until you saw me come into the briefing room. Why are you here?"

She had a second to brace herself as he jumped from his chair and knocked her backwards. His hands clasped around her throat and squeezed. She saw Daniel and Cam jump but motioned them back. This was going to be the only way they got anything out of him.

Curoven pressed even harder on her throat. His eyes were wide with insanity, his pupils so small a slit they almost disappeared. She stared up at him even as he smiled down at her. He was close to the edge of spilling all his secrets. She just had to wait him out.

"I had my hands on that crystal. That is until your friends went to Callist and took it from me. I was going to sell it and make enough money to hire someone to find you. You're the only one who had a chance of survival and with you is the knowledge of our entire planet. You know the history about everything that has happened. You are the only valuable thing that came from that planet."

Somehow D'Nala got her feet under her. With one powerful surge, she shoved her body forward. He hadn't been expecting it so he pitched backward. She held on tight enough that she fell on top of him. He helped her momentum by shoving her but she sat on him and pressed a hand to his sternum.

"You are correct, Curoven. I do have the knowledge and the secrets of the Ionians. The crystal has afforded me that, but it has also given me knowledge on everyone's ailments." Her hand shifted to his ribs. "If I'm not mistaken, one wrong press and your rib snaps and pierces your heart."

They stared at each other for a very long time. D'Nala wasn't a violent person, but Curoven was threatening everyone on this base; people who had taken her in when she'd had nowhere else to go. She was not about to let that happen. She wasn't going to let Dr. Lam treat anyone else because her former protector had attacked her, or let Daniel try to fight a man who could kill him with his bare hands, or let Cam watch his friends die. It wasn't in her.

She reverted back to the language of her forefathers. Only Daniel would be able to translate it so she should be safe.

"How many people survived?" she asked, her mother tongue rolling sweetly from her lips. He didn't answer so she gripped his shirt and slammed his head into the concrete. "How many?!"

"Two-thirds of the population died. The remaining went to different planets. They think you're dead," he replied.

"What did you say?"

"I said the only thing I knew they would consider; I told them our beloved Leaders had been taken and killed because they wouldn't bow to the Ori."

"The Ori teachings are false, as were the Goa'uld! Why would you make an agreement with them?! You betrayed us!"

She heard Cam and Daniel speaking but wasn't focused enough to sort it out. Curoven started to move. She knew she didn't have much time left before he overpowered her so she had to get to the point.

"What is the true nature of your arrival? You didn't just come after me to kill me. SG-1 won't let you do that. You'll die first."

Curoven's smile turned sweet. "How else am I going to rule the Last of the Ionians without their rightful queen by my side?"

He recovered and shoved her backwards. She landed on her back once again, feet trapped under her. She was too tired to move but it really didn't matter. Cam had Curoven pinned against the wall just as Daniel made it to her side. He helped her sit up but didn't lift her due to her hand on his shoulder.

Curoven was still spouting their language. "Why else would they give you the most honorable title? You were born of the greatest kingdom our people have ever known. To keep you safe due to your powers, your parents hide you. Did you really think you looked like the man and woman who raised you?"

"How do you know all this?" she asked.

"My father worked in the palace. He was there the day you were born."

Cam wrenched his arm behind his back. "Shut up. No one understands you anyway." He shoved him away from the wall and marched him out the door.

Daniel made D'Nala look at him. He had to make sure she was okay. She blew out an agitated breath and looked at him. When she flashed that little grin he had come to adore, he kissed her then pulled her against him. He fitted her head into his shoulder and held on tightly.

"Don't you ever do something so stupid like that again!" he scolded.

"Never mind that. Did you hear what he said?" she asked.

He shook his head, but then remembered she couldn't tell what he was doing. "No. You were speaking too fast for me to translate."

"Take me to the crystal. Push me in the damn chair if you have to, but take me to Sam's lab."

He didn't argue. He set the chair up then picked her up and put her in the chair. He made faces at his friends as he passed them. They all piled into the elevator and took the floors down to Sam's lab. The woman opened the door and let them all inside. Daniel pushed D'Nala over to the crystal.

"I don't even know if this is going to work," she muttered.

"Believe in yourself," he answered.

He stepped back and watched her take a breath. When she put her hand on the crystal, it did its normal thing; it glowed. Her eyes took on that glowy, silvery look as whatever was stored in the mainframe was downloaded into her brain. Downloaded wasn't the right word, but it was all he could come up with at the moment.

She withdrew her hand a few minutes later, but didn't move. She stared at the table with an unreadable look on her face. She didn't look uncomfortable but they were getting that way the longer she sat at the table without speaking.

Everyone jumped when she braced her hands on the table and pushed herself up. When she had her balance, she turned and pushed off. Everything in Daniel told him to reach out and help her, but there was a look of determination on her face that kept him where he was.

Somehow Teal'c managed to maneuver himself to the side. He was there when her knees wobbled and went out from underneath her. He steadied her then stepped back once again.

D'Nala's legs screamed at her as she slowly made her way to Daniel. She was grateful Teal'c hadn't let her smash her ribs into the metal table. She'd already had one fall today. She didn't fancy another.

She sighed as she finally made it to Daniel. Her hands fisted his jacket as she pulled her body in close to his. He steadied her with his hands on her hip. She fought to stay upright; so hard she could feel the sweat running down the back of her neck.

"What did it show you?" Sam asked as she and Vala moved to them.

"Sit down," Daniel recommended. He tried to steer her back to the vacant chair but she fought him. "Nala, sit down."

"I'm going to have to learn to stand on my own, Daniel, if I'm going to find the rest of my people."

"What are you talking about? Didn't you say your people were destroyed?" Vala asked.

"My planet was destroyed. Apparently some of my people survived. The Chappa'ai had to be reactivated so they could get through before the planet exploded. I just don't know how." She gnawed on her lower lip. "That's not all."

"What is it?" Daniel asked.

"It'd be a lot easier if I showed you."

Daniel was confused as she turned and walked unsteadily back to the table. He followed her with a hand to her back just in case. She looked up at him then took his hand and placed it on the crystal beside hers.

His mind was instantly flooded with images of a place only history books and paintings could remember. He saw the openness of the grasslands followed by the wonderful architecture that made up of an ancient Roman city. It wasn't as gritty as villages from the past. Instead it was made up of beautiful dried clay homes and mansions.

On top of the hill was the biggest of them all. Once he thought about it, he was there. He watched the hubbub all around him. He was a specter since everyone walked through him.

He followed an excited woman down a long hallway into a brightly lit room. Once inside, he understood what all the commotion was about. A baby had just been born. But something else was going on. As he stepped closer, he was given an eyeful of silvery white hair.

Then he found himself back in the lab. He turned to look at D'Nala, watching the white light fade from her eyes. She closed them then looked up at him.

"Was that you?" he asked. She nodded. "So what does that mean?"

"I was raised to believe that I was a poor commoner who happened to be born with the power of the Stars. I was sent to the Senate, as I've told you. But Curoven seems to believe I'm the heir to the throne. Now that the king and queen are dead, I am the only one who can lead these people."

"And he wants that power." She nodded. "How do we find out?"

"We look at a few planets where they could have gone. Not the immediate ones in my galaxy, but the ones outside it. I think there are eight."

Sam went to her computer. "I'll get the gate addresses. What are we going to do until then?"

D'Nala looked at Daniel. "I learn to walk on my own."


End file.
